A former Aran Islands passenger/freight ferry, M.V. Naomh Éanna, is one of the most famous Irish ships ever to serve the country will soon be completely gone as demolition of the veteran vessel is underway in Dublin.

The riveted hulled ship which transported islanders, tourists, cargoes and animals, sailed the Galway Docks-Aran Islands route for over thirty years as Galway Beo reports and subsequently spent further decades rusting in Dublin's Grand Canal Dock and where a decade ago the ship was saved from scrapping.

Since then, plan after plan (including a luxury hotel as Afloat also reported) to save the immeasurable historical value in the MV Naomh Éanna faltered.

The MV Naomh Éanna was launched at the Liffey Dockyard in 1958 and cut the ferocious waves of the wild Atlantic Ocean until withdrawn from service in 1988.

The 483 tonnes ferry cargo ship had operated the three hour route from Galway Docks to Inis Mór during its three decades of unwavering service.

More from Galway Beo on the iconic vessel that languished in the Grand Canal Dock Basin, Ringsend and involved various campaign groups to try and save the vessel over the decades including a plan to return the ferry to Galway as a maritime heritage attraction.

At the beginning of this year, Afloat's WM Nixon highlighted the plight of the MV Naomh Éanna which took on a list during a cold snap which also led to an ingress of water into the hull. 

The incident of semi-submerged small ship took place when docked in a Georgian-era Graving DryDock off the Grand Canal Basin.

The long saga of the future of the former Galway to Aran Islands ferry ship Naomh Eanna entered a new chapter during the recent cold snap, when she began to take on a list through the ingress of water into her hull in her Graving Dock berth off Dublin's Grand Canal Basin. Constructed in traditional riveted style in 1958, Naomh Eanna was one of the last ships built by Liffey Dockyard in Dublin.

After de-commissioning from the Aran Islands service from Galway Docks in 1989, she was brought to Dublin's Grand Canal Basin south of the River Liffey towards Ringsend and used for various purposes in a static berth as several proposals - such as conversion to a restaurant ship and hospitality venue - were put forward.

Thus far, none of those plans has come to full fruition, and the latest setback makes it more likely than ever that Naomh Eanna, for decades a key part of the fabric of Galway Bay life, is headed for the breaker's yard.

Since 2014, this was all that could readily be seen of the Naomh Eanna from the Grand Canal Basin as she awaited her fate. Photo: William Murphy